Natural Pest Control Workshop — December 2 7-8:30PM

November 30, 2009

Garden Fresh Veggies (Photo: John Shinnick, Vancouver City Hall Community Gardener)

Join me this Wednesday, December 2 to learn how to prevent your hard earned harvest from being decimated by bugs and diseases.  Arzeena Hamir, an agronomist specializing in organic vegetable gardening, has courteously agreed to host a Natural Pest Control Workshop for Evergreen.

The workshop will take place from 7-8:30PM in the Strathcona Room at Vancouver City Hall off 12th Avenue. The cost is pay what you can, with a suggested donation of $5 to $10.

If you’re new to organic gardening like me, this workshop is a must. I hope to see you there!

Comments Off | Events, Gardening, Vancouver | Permalink
Posted by Allison from Evergreen British Columbia

Volunteer Appreciation Party

November 30, 2009

Not enough can be said about the pivotal role volunteers play in greening cities. From researching and helping in the office to planting to running huge events, Evergreen is grateful to have a steady stream of enthusiastic folk join in. Personally, I know I can always count on a great photographer to come out to my events.

On Tuesday night in Toronto we threw a party to celebrate our GTA volunteers. Read about the event from the perspective of Anfernee, a volunteer who wrote about the event on his blog.

Old friends catching up, new friends getting acquainted. (Photo: Michelle Scrivener)

In a private room of the Magic Oven restaurant on Danforth Avenue about 70 volunteers came out to enjoy food and drinks. We learned about the use of art in the design of Evergreen Brick Works, and took a video “hard hat tour” of the construction site. After that we made art, butter and told stories at our own “speaker’s corner”– stay tuned to the blog for a video montage!

Evergreen staff and volunteers make butter. (Photo: Michelle Scrivener)

Comments Off | Events, Evergreen Brick Works, Toronto, Volunteer | Permalink
Posted by Nate from Public Relations

Craft Corner: Making Butter

November 27, 2009

Jenn and Aimee - butter-makers in action. (Photo: Melissa Yu)

This week we threw a party to give thanks to more than 70 volunteers from across the GTA.

Part of the festivities included a workshop on making butter, which I led along with Aimee, Evergreen’s community food program co-ordinator. Everyone who participated got to take home the fruits of their labour in jars donated by Bernardin for the event.

Follow the recipe below for a deliciously homemade gift idea, or make and serve as a special touch to your holiday dinner party.

Happy butter making!

Ingredients

1 cup of whipping cream
1 tsp of rosemary, thyme or your favourite seasoning (optional)

Directions

1. Pour one cup of cream into a container that seals.

2. Shake vigorously for 15 to 20 minutes. It helps to have a partner to share the shaking!

3. Once you have a solid ball, drain off the buttermilk and rinse the ball under cold water.

4. For a unique flavoured butter, mix in a teaspoon of your favourite seasoning.

5. Serve!

The end result (Photo: Michelle Scrivener)

Comments Off | Craft Corner, Food | Permalink
Posted by Jenn from Communications

Give a Gift that Grows

November 25, 2009

Just in time for the holidays, Evergreen invites you to give the Gift of Nature. Cross that hard to buy for person off your list with a donation to Evergreen in their honour.

For each donation made, a personalized card will be sent to your loved one detailing how your gift has helped to support Evergreen’s mission of making cities more livable.

Should your donation be $45 or more, a seed packet of heritage tomatoes will be included inside the card along with planting instructions. After starting the seeds indoors, the tomatoes will thrive in a window box or balcony container for a gift that truly keeps on growing.

To give the Gift of Nature, please visit our website to download the Gift of Nature form.

Comments Off | Funding, News, Uncategorized | Permalink
Posted by Jenn from Communications

Greening Corporate Grounds

November 25, 2009
Success! Teck Metals staff standing by their planted trees and shrubs. Photo: Sarah Deller

Success! Teck Metals staff with their new trees and shrubs. (Photo: Sarah Deller)

It was a  warm, sunny day in September that I volunteered to help my co-worker Kim at a weekend event, but when planting day came, so did the cold and rain. Trooper that I am, I put on my raincoat and thought of the 30 trees and shrubs that were waiting to be planted.

This particular greening project took place with staff from Mississauga’s Teck Metals as part of the new Greening Corporate Grounds program. Evergreen and Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) have partnered to launch this initiative, which supports corporations, businesses, institutions and places of worship that want to green their grounds. Despite the weather, Teck staff were happy to be outside, turning a small corner of their front lawn into a dynamic green space.

Read the rest of this entry »

Comments Off | Stewardship and Planting, Toronto | Permalink
Posted by Sarah from Learning Grounds

Sweet Harvest

November 19, 2009

The average worker bee will make only one-twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in their lifetime, according to the Ontario Beekeepers’ Association. So it’s no surprise that it takes more than 550 worker bees to gather just one pound of honey. Last month, it took five Evergreen staff members three hours to fill more than 125 jars of honey.

Michelle and Nicola jarring honey. (Photo: Melissa Yu)

This summer, the Toronto Beekeepers Co-operative kept 22 beehives on a rooftop at Evergreen Brick Works, and each hive contained an average of 50,000 bees. The resulting honey is shared between Evergreen, the Beekeepers, FoodShare and, of course, the bees. With expertise from beekeeper Cathy Kozma, we used the FoodShare kitchen to bottle the Evergreen share.

Our bees travelled far and wide along through the Don Valley to collect nectar from various wildflowers and blossoms, and you can really taste the difference. We jarred two different harvests, and each had a distinct flavor and texture: one was fluid with a musky floral scent, and the other was rich and more grainy on the tongue. And both were absolutely delicious.

All lined up and ready to be sealed! (Photo: Melissa Yu)

Urban beekeeping is an important part of creating a sustainable city. As urban centres get larger and larger, cities will have to find ways to make up for the agricultural land they overtake. Honeybees make use of all the space in a hive. The question of the day: how can we take a tip from them and maximize the spaces we live and work to produce the food we need to survive?

1 Comment | Evergreen Brick Works, Food, Staff | Permalink
Posted by Mel from Development

Word of Mouth

November 16, 2009
Dera Sacha Sauda

Volunteers hard at work in Mississauga. (Photo: Emily Adam)

I’m always happy to hear volunteers tell their family and friends about the fun and satisfaction that comes with planting trees and working on greening projects in their neighbourhoods.

However, I was floored to learn how volunteers from the group Dera Sacha Sauda spread the word after helping out at events in Mississagua, Markham and Downsview Park.

Stories of their hard work had traveled back to India, where spiritual leader Guru Ji told a crowd of 3 million people about the great community stewardship work their members were doing as Evergreen volunteers. Planting trees and taking care of the environment is an important act as it is one of the principles Dera Sacha Sauda members should aspire to follow.

Here’s hoping the action spreads!

Comments Off | Stewardship and Planting, Toronto | Permalink
Posted by Colin from Common Grounds

New Arbour for the Vancouver City Hall Community Garden

November 13, 2009

Arbour and communal gardens. (Photo: John Shinnick, City Hall community gardener)

Recently, I spent a beautiful day with 25 dedicated gardeners at the Vancouver City Hall Community Garden, where we constructed an entrance way arbour. This was our first work party at the garden, and we were happy for the great turn-out, sunny weather and amazing results! The garden now features a beautifully constructed entrance way arbour, two full perimeter gardens and a calming healing garden.

Check out the below video to see the community gardeners hammering away on the arbour and partaking in the funky “compact dance” to prepare the soil for planting!

More photos and event details are available on the Facebook group courtesy of community gardener, John Shinnick.

1 Comment | Events, Food, Gardening, Vancouver, Video | Permalink
Posted by Allison from Evergreen British Columbia

Crafting up a Storm in Scarborough

November 10, 2009

Gusts of creativity were blowing though Scarborough’s Morningside Park recently, when Evergreen’s Alex Hume gave a wind-chime workshop at the East Scarborough Festival Market, an amazing FoodShare-sponsored market providing fresh food to the community.

Wind Chime

A local resident shows off his hard work. (Photo: Alex Hume)

When children from the school next door got out of class, they rushed over to our table to get a little crafty. The wind chimes, made from recycled household items and used 45’s, were destined for nearby balconies of the many high-rise towers overlooking the park. As Alex sees it, in an urban setting the wind chimes are a great way to be reminded that the forces of nature are all around us!

Comments Off | Art, Events, Toronto | Permalink
Posted by Colin from Common Grounds

Gearing up for 2010

November 4, 2009
construction journal pic

The John Price Brick Press (Photo by: Bill Deneau)

How many cranes does it take to raise a crane?  What makes a “cool roof” cool?

Find the answers to these questions and more on the Evergreen Brick Works construction journal. Updated weekly, the journal follows the transformation of an abandoned brick factory into a cutting-edge environmental community centre, set to open spring 2010.

Get an inside look at this unique project from the comfort of your computer: Hard hat not required.

Comments Off | Evergreen Brick Works, Toronto | Permalink
Posted by Jenn from Communications

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